There is an excellent tool called ``linuxconf'' which can make many configuration issues easier to do. Linuxconf runs on whatever means of display environment it has available to it -- you can run it from the console, over a telnet session, and as a GUI-based tool under X and it will automatically start up in the appropriate manner.
If you need to adjust your system time, modify your network settings, set up file systems, perform user administration, as well as perform many other administrative and configuration duties, you should give this tool a try. The only caveat I would give is that, at the time of this writing, the GUI-based tool is still a bit "buggy" and at times may stop responding to mouse clicks. However, this tool is a promising work in progress, and future revisions should become quite usable.